Staten Island Woman Sentenced To 2 Years In Prison For Defrauding Police Charity Of Over $400,000

  Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that LORRAINE SHANLEY was sentenced today to two years in prison for bank fraud and subscribing to false and fraudulent individual income tax returns, in connection with fraudulently obtaining over $400,000 from a charity providing support to the families of New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) officers killed in the line of duty.  SHANLEY pled guilty on September 20, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein, who imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “With every paycheck, thousands of New York City Police Department officers and employees donated to charity to support the surviving spouses and children of officers killed in the line of duty.  Yet for years, Lorraine Shanley exploited that generosity, using her position as the charity’s volunteer treasurer to steal over $400,000 for herself and her family.  Today’s sentence sends a clear message that those who commit such fraud will face serious consequences.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint and Information, public court filings, and statements made in court:

From 2010 to 2017, SHANLEY served as a volunteer treasurer for Survivors of the Shield, a charity that provides financial support to the families of NYPD officers killed in the line of duty.  During that time period, Survivors of the Shield received approximately $1.9 million in donations, over 99% of which came from NYPD employees, from an average of 5,500 NYPD employees per year. 

SHANLEY was an authorized signatory on Survivors of the Shield’s bank account and credit card, and was authorized to use them for Survivor of the Shield’s operations.  But SHANLEY also used the bank account and credit card to benefit herself and her family members.  From 2010 to 2017, SHANLEY fraudulently obtained over $400,000 from Survivors of the Shield’s coffers, taking money for herself and relatives, and paying for various personal expenditures such as landscaping, dental bills, event tickets, airfare, hotels, and shopping at high-end retailers.

In addition to the prison term, SHANLEY, 69, of Staten Island, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $406,851 and to pay restitution of $406,851 to Survivors of the Shield, including $290,000 to be paid within 30 days of today's judgment, and $103,983 to the IRS.

Mr. Berman thanked the Internal Revenue Service and special agents with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their outstanding investigative work.